Johnson Truck Bodies Ė Rice Lake, Wisconsin In the
small town of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, four brothers took part in the origin
and development of what today is JOHNSON TRUCK BODIES. Back in 1932, the
oldest brother, Herbert Johnson, started the business as the Johnson Welding
& Manufacturing Company. From a modest beginning, the company has grown to
be a pioneer and a leader in the manufacture of fiberglass, refrigerated
truck bodies and trailers. Early manufacturing ventures included farm
wagons, snowplows, and general freight truck bodies. During the early 1940ís
the process of retinning milk cans was added to the business, and the
company name was changed to JOHNSON TRUCK BODIES & RETINNING SERVICE.
Brother Morris Johnson developed the retinning business to a peak output of
1,500 cans per day making the company one of the largest retinners in the
world. The retinning division was sold in 1965 after bulk milk pickup made
the use of cans obsolete. The profitable retinning years made possible
serious and innovative development of better truck bodies. Brothers Henry
and Hugo Johnson were active in this area. The first bodies were very heavy,
constructed of an oak and steel framework with interior and exterior steel
walls. Henry. who was very inventive, began experimenting with the use of
fiberglass-reinforced-plastic which, in the early 50ís, made it possible for
JOHNSON to start making component parts such as one-piece roofs, walls, and
liners. The Johnsons found that these parts were lighter in weight,
exceptionally strong, and would not corrode when subjected to temperature
and climate abuse. Early insulation presented another great challenge.
Again, years of tests and development produced success. JOHNSONís bought one
of the first three foam-dispensing guns in the country in 1950. Ultimately
JOHNSON developed the most advanced insulated truck body for the perishable
food industry by combining urethane foam and fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
This resulted in a body with negligible refrigeration loss and no
deterioration through electrolysis. Exports begun in the late 50ís,
increased greatly in 1960. That year Foremost Dairies ordered bodies for
the delivery of fluid milk and ice cream in Bangkok, Thailand. Other orders
that year went to Canada, Nicaragua, the Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic,
and Puerto Rico. Exports to the Far and Middle East, Central and South
America followed. By 1959, a detachable body called the Cold-Con container
was on the market. These detachable bodies were mounted on a main trailer
frame to transport product from the main processing plant to outlying
locations where they were transferred to individual truck chassis for route
delivery. Of the four Johnson brothers, only Morris remained with the
business until he retired in 1971. J. Charles Peterson and Edmund A. Ricci
(both family members) had become partners in the business by the late 60ís
and continued ownership until May 31, 1999, when they sold the company to
Carlisle Companies Incorporated of Syracuse, NY. Carlisle will continue
operating the company with the original JOHNSON management team out of Rice
Lake, Wisconsin.